Maritime TV's Latest Webcast in 'Piracy Mitigation Strategies' Series Attracting International Attention

Maritime TV, a subsidiary Internet TV Channel on the TV Worldwide  Network announced that the latest webcast in its Series 'Piracy Mitigation Strategies' Series  is attracting significant international traffic  in response to panelist commentary.

The webcast, now available for on demand viewing on Maritime TV, was the second in the series and was produced January 8, 2013 at the National Press Club in Washington D.C., in cooperation with the Piracy Daily Bulletin. The event was sponsored by AdvanFort, a recognized leader in global maritime security solutions. The keynote address was delivered by Rear Admiral Terry McKnight, USN (Ret.), author of Pirate Alley: Commanding Task Force 151 off Somalia. Other expert panelists included:

--  Charles N. Dragonette, a recently-retired senior analyst on piracy at the U.S. Office of Naval Intelligence.

--  Dr. John A. C. Cartner, a designated Proctor in Admiralty by the Maritime Law Association of the United States; a member of other state maritime law associations, a member of the District of Columbia Bar Association and the Law Society for England and Wales and  and the principal author of The International Law of the Shipmaster and Defending against Pirates: The International Law of Armed Guards, Small Arms and Privateers.

--  William H. (Will) Watson, vice president of government affairs and governor with the Maritime Security Council, where he represents the Maritime Industry on the National Council of ISACs (Information Sharing & Analysis Centers), and the president of AdvanFort.

"About 70% of the populations of pirates that we captured are what we call catch and release," said Rear Admiral Terry McKnight, USN (Ret.), author of Pirate Alley: Commanding Task Force 151 off Somalia. "We basically caught them, we thought we had enough evidence, but higher-up authorities said, 'A), you don't have enough evidence.' which was telling me we didn't want to go through the process of trying to prosecute these people."

McKnight added, "The people who have paid for the armed security teams have not been hijacked."

"We cannot afford to have the contagion of the violation of the rule of law spread with piracy and I fully agree with Admiral Knight that we've got to have Navies doing this, Navies who can afford to do this," stated Dr. John A.C. Cartner. "But I also think that those must be supplemented very strongly with private armed guards, because this is where the suppression occurs, the tactical suppression, right there, right then at the spot."

"One of our catch phrases at Advanfort is 'Your best deterrent is our show of force'," remarked Captain Will Watson. "When the skiffs are approaching the vessel, have the private security go to the rail, hold their weapons over their heads and show the pirates that there is armed security on board. More often than not, that turns them around."

"If governments of legitimately constituted states are not going to be governing the ocean then it will governed by whoever has the most firepower to be there at the time, "said Charles N. Dragonette. "It was the Somalis Pirates for a while...it will now be the private maritime security companies."

"We're pleased to see the strong and growing international traffic response to this latest event in our 'Piracy Mitigation Strategies' Webcast Series on Maritime TV," stated Dave Gardy, Chairman and CEO of TV Worldwide, Maritime TV's parent network. "This is a hot topic in the maritime sector and we're preparing to announce the formation of a Washington Piracy Working Group to advise us on direction and content for this series. Our next webcast is slated for February 12, 2013 and will address Training for Piracy Encounters."

The event was moderated by Martin Edwin Andersen, Editor of the Piracy Daily Bulletin. This event marks the official launch of Piracy Daily, which, together with the Piracy Daily Bulletin, has been created as a critical resource for understanding a centuries-old (and the first recognized) international crime against humanity. "We're excited about the strong interest level in our content since we've launched," remarked Andersen.